Starting Over
by Squirtle1996
Summary: Post-Pain arc AU. What if one day you wake up and all seems normal, except for one thing? You forget the person that is most precious to you. NaruSaku.
1. Chapter 1

A week has passed since Konoha was demolished by Pain. The damage done by the leader of the Akatsuki was devastating. Most of the village was gone. It was blown away with a single jutsu. All that's left of Konoha was a giant crater.

The pain that the survivors felt was unimaginable. The feeling of being hunted down was indescribable. Witnessing everyone, everything that they loved, disappear right in front of them was frightening.

Thankfully, despite all of the casualties, everyone who had their lives taken away against their will were given a second chance to live.

This was all thanks to a hero. The boy who was looked down upon during their childhood, the boy who had no parents and was made fun of for it, yet he still saved them all regardless of his past. Uzumaki Naruto is the hero they need, but not the one they deserved.

* * *

"It's fine Sakura-chan!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he grinned mischievously. "I don't need a party! Really!" He was currently having his daily checkups and was seated on a chair inside a hospital room.

The jinchūriki may be strong, but Pain was no joke to laugh at. The only reason he even won against him was because he didn't have the intent to kill, but to capture.

Sakura, the only female of Team 7, was the one responsible for attending to Naruto's wounds for the week. It was the least she could do for the blond. When she lost hope, he was the one who pulled through and defended the village.

"Naruto, everyone thinks of you as a hero now! Are you really going to let the villagers down after they agreed to throw you a party?" Sakura shouted as she hit Naruto lightly on the arm, indicating that he could put his shirt back down. His checkup was complete.

Naruto stared at his teammate in shock, and then softened up into a small smile. Sakura knew that look. Whenever he had that smile on, it wasn't because he was happy. It was the same smile he had when he promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back to the village.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura said, voiced filled with concern. She wasn't sure what was on his mind right now. Naruto was usually the one who liked parties the most since there would be a lot of food. During their gatherings, he would blackhole everything, leaving the rest of them with scraps. So why wasn't he excited to have a party and relax?

Naruto began to rub the back of his head and laughed anxiously. "W-W-Well… I guess… It's just that the village still needs to be rebuilt and we shouldn't waste any time!"

Sakura crossed her arms and sighed. "The village is mostly rebuilt already. We're in a hospital for crying out loud!"

The village wasn't actually finished with the construction. Yamato worked day and night, using his wood release to build houses and others buildings that are required. Things such as hospitals, homes, and Ichiraku as requested by Naruto. But this was only a simple layout. The more technical stuff could be built later.

Trying to find another excuse, Naruto scratched his face with a finger. "But Granny Tsunade is still –"

"Tsunade-sama is already up." Sakura interrupted with a bored look on her face. "Kakashi-sensei brought a bottle of Sake in honor of her protecting the village, and she magically woke up when that bottle hit her bedside."

It wasn't a lie, it's like the Hokage lived for sake. She sprang up and chugged the bottle of alcohol so fast that even Kakashi's sharingan couldn't keep up with the contents in the bottle.

Naruto began to giggle, and Sakura followed. She then pulled lightly at his sleeve and stared at him seriously. "So what's wrong? You can tell me anything."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head again, but this time slowly. He then tilted his head down with a sad smile on his face.

"Well… I guess it's just that… I'm not used to being treated like this…?" Naruto then looked up at Sakura and began to wave his hands out at her in a panic. She was clearly lost for words. "I-I-It's not that I don't like your company or anyone else's… but it just doesn't feel right."

After hearing her best friend, she felt a little disheartened. She can feel the ache in her chest. It was true that people look up to Naruto now, but not so long ago, people would ignore him, badmouth him, and even deny him services because he was the ninetails jinchūriki.

However, that wasn't the reason why Sakura felt a sting in her heart. She had no right to blame the villagers for what had happened to Naruto. How can she? She was also part of it. She would live the rest of her life in guilt for what she had done to little Naruto. She even knew that he liked her, yet she still dared to ask him to bring Sasuke back just so that she could live in her own little happy fantasy.

Sakura gulped and faked a smile. "W-W-Well you should get used to it." She began to laugh nervously and hit his arm again. "Everyone looks up to you now. You're the role model for the future generations. The future hokage!"

Naruto looked at her in awe. He enjoyed being complimented by Sakura. It made him feel happy and giggly. His face then shifted into a genuine smile. "Thanks Sakura-chan."

Feeling relieved, Sakura wiped her forehead with her hand. "So how about it? Tonight, we'll have a party at the park with everyone."

Giving him a little time to think about it, he finally agreed with a nod.

"Alright then! That does it! We're having a party for you tonight!" Sakura cheered as she stood up. She could also use this time to relax a little. After what had happened a week ago, she was clearly stressed out and had sleepless nights.

Naruto stood up as well, a bit flustered. He was fidgeting with his fingers, clearly nervous. Before Sakura could walk out the door, he shouted out to her. "Hey Sakura-chan!"

Sakura turned around at the sudden call of her name. "Yes Naruto?" Looking at Naruto, Sakura could clearly tell that his cheeks had reddened.

Putting on the most confident expression he could at the moment, he began to talk. "Sakura-chan, do you think I'm a hero?"

Sakura just stared blankly at him for a few moments. It was now her face to redden. The room went silent. She didn't know what to tell him. Sakura forced a smile. "What's with the sudden question?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Before… you said that the village thinks of me as a hero… does that include you…?" He asked shyly.

Sakura was taken back by the question. She couldn't lie to herself, of course she thought of him as a hero, even long before this whole Pain invasion started. He saved her so many times she couldn't even keep count of all of them.

"Ummm…" Sakura mumbled like she was being asked out by a boy she liked. She then nodded slowly as she tried to hide her face by looking at the floor.

After a moment of embarrassment, the room was still silent. _Why wasn't he saying anything?_ She looked up from the floor to see if Naruto got the message.

Her eyes widened in shock.

Naruto, staring blankly at the girl, had tears flowing down his face.

Sakura didn't know what she had done to get that expression.

"What's wrong Naruto?!" Sakura asked as she grabbed both his arms

Naruto shook his head with a smile. Pulling away from her grip, he wiped the tears with his hands.

"It's nothing… It's just that… you finally acknowledged me…" Naruto said with a light-hearted tone.

Sakura could feel her heartstrings being pulled. It was this warmth that Naruto radiated that made her feel attracted to him.

She didn't know why her opinion of him mattered so much to him. She truly believes that he deserves someone much better than herself.

On the contrary, Naruto felt like this was one step closer to his goal. His goal to winning Sakura's heart. He knew that Sakura still had feelings for Sasuke, and he's still trying his hardest to bring him back, but just being acknowledged by Sakura made him feel like he could do anything. If he could bring Sasuke back, then Sakura would truly acknowledge Naruto.

He doesn't even mind Sakura ending up with Sasuke as long as she was still beside him.

 _He truly felt happy to just be second._

Sakura managed to pull a straight face after that emotional reply from Naruto. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the blond.

"Come on Sakura-chan! The sun is going down; we should get ready for the party!"

Naruto walked ahead of her and left the room. Sakura stood there in thought.

 _Of course, you're my hero… Even if one day, I wake up forgetting you, you will always be my hero_

With confidence and a smile, she ran after the boy

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first Naruto fic! Chapter 1 is basically just the prologue to the story. I haven't written a fic in a long time so I'm just testing the waters by making a short first chapter to see if it does well with the readers.**

 **The next chapter will be the beginning of the real story and I hope you all enjoy it!**


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto opened his eyes as he had trouble sleeping. The entire night consisted of him squirming around on the futon that was laying on the ground. The boy blinked a few times to get the drowsiness out of his eyes. The blond placed his hand on his forehead as he felt his head pulsate which would certainly mean a headache. He also moaned in pain when he felt his back ache, probably due to the hardwood floors. _When did, my bed get so hard?_

With his eyes cleared of sleep, he looked left and right, turning his head to see that he was on floor level.

"Where am I…?" Naruto mumbled to no one. His mouth tasted bitter when he swallowed.

Lifting the sheets, he slowly got on his bottom while placing an arm on his back like an old man to support himself. Looking around with a clearer view, the room was lit which means that the sun had already risen over Konoha.

He raised his arms as he let out a yawn. _Yup this is DEFINITELY not my house._

With his current situation, Naruto tried to analyze his surroundings. Looking straight ahead, he could clearly tell that it was a girl's room. There was a closet filled with girl clothes, with most of them being around the pinkish color region. The room had a scent of cherry blossoms to it which was pleasant to the nose.

Naruto raised a brow and scratched his cheek in confusion. He then paused for a little moment. He glanced to the side to see that there was another futon right beside his. He could tell that there was a person there, but couldn't make out who it was. They were sleeping on their side and had their back against him.

Curious, he slowly crept up to them, trying to get a peek at the face of this mysterious person. The person was fairly close to him as they were only about a meter apart in distance. Based on the results of his analysis, even the dense blond could tell that it was a female. The blanket of the futon outlined their petite body that no male should have.

As he got closer and closer, his heart began to beat faster and faster. It was hammering against his chest while he nervously tried to peek over their shoulder.

Suddenly, the person shifted in their sleep and Naruto quickly dove back into his futon, closing his eyes immediately, pretending to sleep. He shut his eyes, praying that they wouldn't wake up.

After a few moments, and nothing had happened, the blond wiped his forehead and sighed.

 _What did I get myself into?_

He then stopped thinking, eyes growing wider. His face turning into a bright shade of pink as realization hit him.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, but he quickly covered his mouth with his hands so he wouldn't wake the person.

Flashbacks of what happened played in his head like a movie.

* * *

It was around seven at night when the party for Naruto was held at the outdoor park. Ino, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Sakura were the main hosts of the party. After Naruto and Sakura left the hospital, the girl parted ways with him, telling the blond that he shouldn't worry about anything and that they'll get everything prepared. But since it's Naruto, he didn't want to be left out so he tried his best to convince Sakura to let him help, but the girl just shooed him away. He was sad that he couldn't take part and he knew that he wouldn't win against Sakura in a verbal argument, so he gloomily wandered around the village for a few hours as the pink haired girl got everything together.

On her way to the event location, she invited anyone she saw as she moved along. Sakura had informed the entire village of this event to make it as warm and welcoming as possible. She knew Naruto deserved at least that much.

The park quickly filled with people when they got the invitations. With Shikamaru's great leadership, a lot of supplies for the party were gathered. Chefs brought in food, Yamato created many tables and chairs, and villagers brought in gifts to honor their savior.

Many guests had showed up, but one pair had Sakura excited.

"Thanks for coming!" Sakura smiled gleefully as she welcomed Teuchi and Ayame as they arrived. They shook hands as they greeted each other.

"Not a problem!" Teuchi laughed as he pulled his cart.

Behind the ramen maker was a mobile noodle booth. It had a stove, bowls, and all the ingredients to make his world-famous ramen. Sakura knew how much Naruto liked Ramen Ichiraku, so instead of bringing Naruto to Ichiraku's, she brought Ichiraku's to Naruto.

"Anything for our favorite customer!" Ayame cheered beside her father. Her father looked at his daughter and nodded with confidence.

"Anything for my future son-in-law!" Teuchi gave Ayame a thumbs up.

That comment made Ayame blush as she placed her hands on her face and embarrassingly looked away. Sakura was also blushing with her mouth wide opened.

Despite being flustered, the brunette took a glance at Sakura and she could clearly tell that she was shocked. It wasn't surprising to her that the pinkette would have that face after hearing her father. When Naruto would come for ramen alone, he would usually talk about Sakura and how he made her angry and how she would send him to the moon in return. But it wasn't all just the fights that Naruto would talk about. He would also tell the ramen duo how great Sakura was. Ayame could also tell that Sakura cares about Naruto a lot, based on his stories.

Ayame gave Sakura a smirk, and then turned to her father with a smile.

"Father, I'm just one of the many girls in the village that admires Naruto. But Naruto already has someone in his heart." Ayame explained to her father.

She then turned her view to Sakura. Following his daughter's eyes, Teuchi mouthed _ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_ as he nodded his head. Sakura's eyes widened as she noticed that Ayame had meant her when she said Naruto had someone in his heart.

Sakura quickly waved her hands in denial.

"Nono! We're not like that!" Sakura explained as fast as she could. "We're teammates! Nothing more!"

Ayame smirked, clearly not believing her. "Whatever you say…" She then quickly cupped her mouth with her hands and yelled as she noticed someone. "HEY! NARUTOOOO! OVER HERE!" Ayame waved her hands to indicate to the blond to come over to where they're at.

Following Ayame's sign, Naruto began to make his way over to the Ichiraku booth. Sakura turned around to see a blond male running over. She sighed deeply.

"Hey guys! Hi Sakura-cha-!" Naruto greeted everyone, but paused when he noticed something in the background.

"WOAH! IS THIS RAMEN?!" Naruto shouted in excitement with his eyes glistening.

"Yeah Naruto!" Ayame replied. She then gave Sakura a pat on the back. "Your girlfriend here called us here so that you can enjoy your favorite food. Isn't she wonderful?" Ayame gave her another pat on the back.

Tick marks appeared on Sakura's head as she brightened red. Her hands were curled into fists and trembling. Not from anger, but from embarrassment.

Naruto reached for her shoulder. "Wow Sakura-chan! I never knew you—" but before his hand was fully on her shoulder, at the slightest touch, Sakura responded with an uppercut and sent him flying away. Ayame and Teuchi just sweated and forced a laugh.

The rest of the night involved drinking, socializing, and many heartbreaks. Girls were surrounding Naruto as they bombarded him with questions. The blond was clearly flustered with so many females around him. If this was three years ago, no girl would even bother to talk with him, let alone ask him out.

Sakura was standing at the side with her friends, staring at the crowd of females as they embraced her teammate. She was clearly annoyed at the intimacy these girls were giving him.

"Hey Sakura, shouldn't you help him out over there?" Ino giggled as she looked at her best friend. Ino was the kind of person to tease someone to the point that they would want to punch her.

"Yeah, he might get eaten up you know." Shikamaru said as placed his hands on the back of his head. Shikamaru didn't really care, but it seemed like making fun of Sakura was the most entertaining thing that was happening right now,

"Yeah, I read in my book that when boys his age are surrounded by girls, he would –" before Kakashi was finished, the girl disappeared so fast that even his sharingan couldn't keep track of her speed.

Putting her hands into fists, pupils gone, hair rising into the air, she walked into the crowd of girls and dragged Naruto away.

After a few moments of scolding from his teammate, a little girl brought an envelope over to Naruto and ran away, smiling.

Confused, he teared the envelope and took out the letter that was inside. Unfolding the paper, he began to read the letter out loud to his friends.

"To Naruto. Thank you for saving my family and I. You are my hero! One day I want to grow up to be like you!"

A tear rolled down Naruto's eye as he finished reading the letter. His shoulders were tensed. It was the first time someone gave him something out of respect. Even if it was just a letter, it made him emotional. His friends all gave him a soft smile.

"Get used to it." Sakura ruffled his hair. "You are the hero now. Everyone looks up to you."

Naruto stared at Sakura with eyes widened. He was finally someone that the village respected, that Sakura respected, yet he still has this empty feeling in his stomach, like he hasn't done enough.

Following the girl, many other villagers had brought gifts for the hero, but he denied most of them. Naruto thought that he didn't deserve any of this, and that it was his duty to protect the village as the future hokage.

While he was chatting with his friends, Naruto felt someone's prescence behind him. Tsunade gave him a nice pat on the back. Turning around, Naruto was greeted with a huge smile. She wouldn't say it out loud, but the fifth hokage was proud that such a fine shinobi was raised in this village. She did care for him like a son afterall.

The older woman then dragged him away for drinks to celebrate, which Naruto clearly tried to deny. Unfortunately for him, there was no running away from the hokage.

The rest of the night was spent drinking. After many shots, and complaints of old age, Naruto was finally drunk.

This was where his memories began to fade. All he remembered was that he knocked out while Tsunade forced him to chug down a bottle of sake. After he was out, he didn't know who it was, but he felt someone carry him on their back and took him somewhere.

* * *

Back into reality, Naruto rubbed his temples. He didn't know where he was or who was beside him. He screamed at himself mentally.

 _Please don't tell me that I had a one night stand!_

Naruto almost fainted at the thought of that. He wasn't the type of guy to do these thing, even if it was accidental.

He looked down at his body and he was clothed, which means he didn't do anything bad. He sighed in relief to know that he didn't betray his feelings.

With courage, he slowly made his way back to the person, or girl…

When he was close enough, he could feel her body heat. Trying his best to not make noise, he leaned over her and tried to get a peek at her face. But before he could see, she shifted her body to face the male, scaring him in the process.

Naruto looked at the girl, his mouth dropped to the floor as his face quickly reddened. This girl was someone that Naurto knew well. Someone that he cared deeply for. Even thinking about doing these acts with her was out of the question. In his mind, she was innocent and he knew that she would kill him if she woke up right now.

Deciding whether to leave as fast as possible or pretend to sleep, he felt that he was in a situation that would never happen again. Her sleeping features were rather cute, something Naruto would rarely ever get to witness.

He decided to stay for a little more. He held a soft smile on his face like he was watching an innocent puppy. He reached out to move her bangs to get a clearer view of her face that he adored.

He then jolted back as she suddenly shifted again. Hiding behind his pillow, he tried to approach her again, but stopped when she said something.

"Naruto…" Sakura said. Her eyes were still closed so she was sleeping or she could be faking it and knew that he was there. Naruto reassured himself that she was definitely still sleeping or he would be through the roof already.

Hearing those words, Naruto smirked a little. _Is she dreaming about me?_ Naruto tried to get closer again, but stopped when he heard her again.

"Naruto, get away…" Sakura mumbled.

The blond didn't know what she meant by _get away_ , but he continued to listen to what she had to say.

"Naruto… get away from…" the sleeping girl paused.

 _Get away from what?_

"Sasuke-kun… I'll never…" Sakura continued.

After hearing those words, Naruto darkened as his bangs casted a shadow over his eyes. He knew what she was trying to say even if she didn't finish her sentence. She was telling him to get away from her. She was dreaming about Sasuke and was going to tell him that she would never leave him.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked at her and forced a smile.

 _Right. This is how it should be. How can I even think that she would like me like that?_

Naruto got up, opened the window, looked at the sleeping girl one last time and leapt out of the girl's apartment.

.

.

.

"Sasuke-kun… I'll never… forgive you… if you kill Naruto…"


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura couldn't see anything but darkness. She wandered around blindly, trying to find the way out of her current situation.

The pink haired kunoichi reached her arms out, trying to reach something, anything. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing. Only darkness exists in this realm.

Realizing her state and background, she only had one explanation on why she was here.

 _Am I dead…?_

Crossing her hands on her mouth with eyes in shock, she trembled hopelessly. The kunoichi didn't know what to do at this point.

Calming down, her trembling stopped and she put on a blank face.

Sakura walked in one direction blindly, not knowing what lied ahead of her. She couldn't just stand around not doing anything.

After walking for moments, she stopped in her tracks when she saw something. It appeared to be a humanoid figure.

Squinting her eyes to get a better view, her eyes sharpened as she glared at it.

She recognized the person that popped into existence. She didn't know why he was here, but she didn't want to see him right now. Not after what he had done.

" _Sasuke-kun! Why? Why did you kill Naruto?!"_

Sakura ran and tried to reach for the shadowy figure. She was afraid, but her anger and sorrow overwhelmed that emotion.

She wanted to punch him so bad.

She was getting closer to Sasuke. She curled her fists in anger and pulled her arm back, getting ready to punch him out of existence. She thrusted her arm forward at full power, hoping to send him straight out of her sight. However, her arm was stopped right before her fists connected with his face.

Her eyes widened with tremor and fear. She was too afraid to continue.

Sasuke placed a hand on his forehead and began to laugh manically at Sakura's pitiful attempt at hurting him.

As Sakura watched her ex-teammate laugh crazily after killing his one and only friend, she felt defeated. Not only did Naruto die, but Sasuke was still not back. He wasn't the same person that Sakura once knew.

Stopping his laughter, Sasuke's face slowly began to distort as it began to morph into something more sinister.

Sakura couldn't process what was happening, but she knew it was bad.

Taking Sasuke's place was thousands of arms made of shadows.

Sakura ran as fast as her legs could go.

She kept running without turning back to see what was chasing after her. She was too scared.

After what felt like an eternity of running, one arm managed to reach her leg and she fell on to the hard, cold floor.

Gritting her teeth, she slowly looked back.

Before she had the chance to process what was chasing after her, she was seized with many arms. One after another, they kept crawling up to her.

She tried to fight them off, but they were too overwhelming in power and numbers.

The medic felt her entire body being dragged away into the darkness. Sakura continued to retaliate, flailing her arms and legs around. She couldn't keep this up for much longer though. She felt her strength draining every second.

She was helpless.

There was nothing that she could do. Just like how she couldn't do anything when Sasuke pierced Naruto through the chest with a chidori.

Sakura closed her eyes, and stopped resisitng, letting the darkness consume her.

Tears began to roll down her cheek as she accepted her fate.

 _I'm sorry Naruto… maybe in another life… I'll –_

"Are you giving up, Sakura-chan?"

Before she could finish her thoughts, she was interrupted by a voice.

Sakura's eyes flew open.

She could recognize this voice.

This voice was always beside her, encouraging her to try her best. It sometimes annoyed her, but she knew that it was warm and full of love.

Something then caught her eye.

At the end of the dark corridor, a spec of light appeared.

Using all her strength, she forced an arm out of the grasps, trying to reach for the light.

The kunoichi struggled to pull herself out. The darkness was still trying to suck her into the shadowy depths.

Sakura felt like she couldn't reach the light.

But, she didn't give up and smiled. Slowly, but surely, the light was getting bigger in her vision.

She may not be getting closer to the light, but the light was getting closer to her.

Continuing to resist getting pulled away, the light was approaching nearer to her.

Sakura felt relief when an arm appeared from the light, trying to reach her.

She tried her best to grab it. Using all the strength she had left, forcing herself out of the clutches of darkness. Her fingers were a mere few centimeters away from the warm hand she would call her hope.

When she was just about to touch the light, she felt her world crumble apart. The darkness quickly eliminated and covered any presence it had

Quickly, she was dragged away in an instant into the darkness.

* * *

Sakura felt the world around her spinning. She had abruptly woken from her slumber, jolting up as fast as possible.

She crossed her hands on her chest as she clutched onto her shirt while taking rapid deep breaths.

She shivered in fear.

Her hair was not the usual bright pink. It was dampened from the sweat she had produced and her shirt was soaked.

When she was calming down and taking slower breaths, she covered her face with her hands when she let out a cry. Her tears began to flow, and she couldn't stop them.

The pinkette didn't know why, but the past few days, after pain was defeated, Sakura had woken up from similar nightmares.

These nightmares consisted of Naruto, Sasuke, and herself. The dreams felt realistic to her, almost real.

In the dreams, Naruto and Sasuke would finally confront each other after such a long time. They would have an all-out battle, while she could only watch from a distance.

Somethings would play out differently, but the end outcome is always the same. She would hold onto her teammate's lifeless body as he died from the hands of the person she loved.

But could she really still call him the person she loved?

After all these years, she never got anything in return even though she cared so much for him.

She only hoped that he would be doing well without her, yet he became a criminal that the world is after.

He didn't think of her. He didn't care for her. He never opened up to her. He never even bothered to keep in contact, even if its just as friends or teammates.

But he did do one thing for her. Something really important that changed the way she looked at things.

He opened her eyes.

His selfishness and betrayal lead her to the person who truly cared for her

Protected her.

Cherished her.

Thinking about the cool teenage boy, now turned criminal, she asked herself two questions.

Did she hate him?

No.

But did she still have feelings for him?

Even she doesn't know. If she was honest to herself, she would admit that he looked handsome, truly the guy of her dreams. But that was just based on looks.

Sakura had matured over the two years she was separated from her two teammates. She was slowly growing out of her first childish crush and looking at someone in a different light. She realized that looks weren't everything.

Even if they were visually attractive, if they treated her like trash, then she would have none of it. Instead, she wanted someone that would appreciate her.

Light rays seeped through her window curtains and blinded her slightly.

Clearing her thoughts, she rubbed her eyes, raised her arms and let out a long yawn.

She looked at the clock. It was almost ten.

Sighing to no one in particular, she put her arms down.

Sakura was already running a little late. She would usually wake up at around nine and report to Tsunade by around ten, but today she decided that she would take it easier. It wasn't like Tsunade needed her at ten, but being her responsible self, she just kept going at that time.

Also, she needed time to wash her face and to hide her puffy red eyes.

She wasn't going to lie, but she knew how she looked after crying. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Getting up from her futon, she noticed the empty futon that was beside her own.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room in a panic to see if a certain blond was here.

Relieved that she didn't see any signs of him, she calmed herself down. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her pitiful state.

Sakura mentally slapped herself.

How could she forget? She had brought him to her house yesterday after the party.

A blush crept on to her face as she recalled the events that happened.

* * *

After Naruto had finished drinking with the hokage, he was drunk to the point where he could barely stand.

Notifying Sakura to take the boy home, Tsunade went back to drinking with the other guests.

Sakura questioned why she was the one taking him home. After all, she was a girl.

Asking her friends, she got irritated. They responded with ridiculous excuses.

Shikamaru said he was going to help clean after the party. The lazy Shikamaru wanted to stay and clean?! Nice try!

After her many attempts at failing to get anyone to take him home, Sakura sighed to herself.

"Well if I'm taking him home, then you guys better make sure this place is spotless!" Sakura yelled at her friends who just smirked back at her.

"DON'T WORRY! WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE REST! YOU ENJOY YOURSELF!" Ino shouted as she waved at her friend from the other side.

Sakura gave a death glare to her best friend.

She then placed Naruto's arm around her shoulder and she placed her arm around his waist to support him. She then slowly made her exit with her friends smiling mischievously behind her back.

It wouldn't be the first time that Sakura took him home, so she didn't know why it was such a big deal right now.

When Naruto got hurt during missions, she would usually nurse him back to full health. Sometimes he would even stay at her place while she took care of him.

So why was she so flustered now?

Sakura knew why. She just didn't want to admit it.

The battle with Pain had brought new light to the blond that was currently in her arms.

The destruction of her village and the death of her loved ones decimated her. She couldn't do anything to help the village at that time.

All she could do was scream.

Scream for the person she knew that could protect the village.

It was selfish of her.

Pain invaded the village to look for the ninetails, and everyone in the village never snitched him out, even at the cost of their own lives.

Yet… she still had hope that he would come and save everyone, even if it meant risking the end of the world.

Naruto arriving on the battlefield made her heart race against her chest.

All she could do was watch from a distance, not being able to interrupt the intense fight.

When Naruto started transforming into the ninetails, she felt terrified. She remembered how he was when he transformed during his fight against Orochimaru. But this time, there was no one to keep him in check.

She feared for his safety.

She wouldn't have known what to do if he had perished as well. She couldn't lose her best friend. The person that knew her the best. He was the person closest to her and if he had died, she would have thought about ending her own life as well.

When the battle was finally over, she cried as he came out victorious.

But she did have one regret.

She regretted not being there for him.

When she heard Hinata had confronted Pain to save Naruto, she knew that she didn't deserve him.

He was fighting for the sake of the village and her safety, yet she couldn't bring herself to stand up to the Akatsuki leader.

She felt useless.

Sakura knew that Naruto had liked her ever since the academy days, but she felt like that he was slowly drifting away from her.

After all, she didn't treat him that well. She would always punch him, yell at him, and ditch him.

Sakura didn't even know if Naruto still liked her. He didn't compliment her as much as the old days, nor was he as openly affectionate.

Before she realized, Naruto fell asleep on her while she was dragging him to his house.

Sakura glared at Naruto for a second, but then loosened up into a soft smile.

Staring at the sleeping boy, she never noticed it before because she didn't pay much attention.

The moonlight shining down from the sky lightened Naruto's face. His features were glistening and Sakura kept staring.

In her eyes right now, she thought that Naruto looked cute.

She decided that he could get away this time and didn't send him flying.

There was still a distance before they would reach Naruto's house. Deciding that she was actually getting tired herself, she walked him to her house which was nearby.

Reaching her house, she tried her best to reach for the key in her pocket and turned the door knob. Stumbling inside, she turned on the lights. There wasn't much in her house. Her old house was destroyed in the Pain battle so Yamato had built her a new one. All she had was some furniture that was created by Yamato. She didn't even have a proper bed yet.

Setting Naruto on a chair, she went to grab an extra futon and laid it beside her own.

Thinking about it as she was preparing a second sleeping spot beside hers, her face reddened.

 _What am I doing?!_

She had just brought home a guy who was drunk as hell, and she was going to basically let him sleep right beside her.

 _Calm down Sakura, calm down._

She took deep breaths to steady her rapid breathing.

 _He's drunk, so I'm not going to let a drunk friend be alone. This is just to take care of him. Yes… just to take care of him._

Content with her excuse, she forced a smile and went over to the boy on the chair.

She then dragged him over to his futon and helped him get in. He was still in his clothes, but Sakura didn't bother changing him. First of all, there was no way in hell that she was going to strip him down. Second, she didn't have any spare clothes for him.

After he was snuggly and comfortable, she lifted the blanket over him, trying her best not to wake him up. After she was done, she went to take a quick shower, and changed into her pajamas.

Slowly creeping as to not wake her friend up, she comfortably nested into her futon as well.

Before falling asleep, she turned around to look at the face of her sleeping friend once more.

* * *

Sighing, she could only blame herself since she was the one who had brought him here. All she could think about right now was _…_

 _Where did he go?_

He was nowhere to be seen in her room, and it surprised her. She would have thought that he would still be sleeping since he was never on time for anything. Yet, he already disappeared before she even woke up.

Getting into the bathroom, she turned on the sink and let the water run. Cupping her hands to form a bowl, she caught the water and splashed it on her face. She really wanted to wash away any signs of her crying.

She changed into her red top and black shorts that was underneath a grey skirt. She grabbed her forehead protector and used it like a headband.

Finally ready to tackle on the day, she left her house to greet the hokage before going to find the missing blond.

* * *

At the outskirts of Konoha, a masked man, wearing the Akatsuki cloak, was standing on a tree branch of one of the tallest trees that grew there. He was staring at the town from a distance before smirking to himself and began to head towards the direction of the village.


End file.
